Last Thursday (23rd Dec) another riot broke out on prison island, this time it exploded at HMP Swaleside, as 60 masked prisoners took over a wing at the Category B training prison on the Isle of Shippey. The riot lasted for more than 6 hours as fire as extensive damage was done to the wing, fire extinguishers let off and pool balls thrown at screws. Again a riot unit called ‘Tornado Team’ had to be sent into the prison to quell the riot, which did not end till 1am the following day. Pictures and video footage that were sent out on illegally smuggled in phones show the rioters in full control of the wing rearing themselves up to fight the authorities, chanting loudly ‘Swaleside is burning!’

Like this:

Send information about the recent US prison strike to folks inside! Here are some files of information that has been gathered about the strike formatted to fit on A4 sheets of paper per file so they can be printed and mailed in to prisoners (where prisons are not too aggressive with censorship, that is).

On the night of the 29th of August during a riot a number of prisoners at the infamous Oberstown youth prison made their way to the roof after taking keys from a screw and set a fire on top of it. The blaze began at about 8pm and caused extensive damage to the prison.

A number of young prisoners were seen on the roof of one of the prison buildings taking advantage of a strike by screws that was ongoing outside. The idiot screws staged the eight-hour work stoppage because of being attacked on a regular basis by the youth. Lets just say we have no sympathy for the screws at all especially the screw that was injured and sent to hospital for trying to break the disturbance on the roof.

According to mainstream sources the rioting went on for hours into the night and the ERU (Irish riot cops) were sent in because the youth took control of the prison!

The riot has occurred only 2 weeks after five other youth managed to scale the fences of the youth prison complex with a ladder they stole from a storeroom, having attacked screws and then scaled the 30ft perimeter wall. The five teenagers, who were armed with bats and golf clubs, were only found and returned to the detention centre after a massive operation that even included armed cops and dogs.

The web has been abuzz with information about the recent riots here in Alabama at Holman prison – the stabbing of a warden and correctional officer, the fires that were set, the overcrowding, etc. – but what has been left out of this narrative is that the catalyst for the riots was a fight between two queer prisoners about queer relations. After quelling their beef, a pig and the warden attempted to intervene and was stabbed.

No one wants to mention that out of the six prisoners who were charged with the stabbings of the warden and correctional officer, four are queer. Historically, attempts have been made to write queer resistance out of history. But, despite all the attempts, queer folk have refused to allow these stories to go unknown.

What I think most people refuse to acknowledge is that prisons are extensions of patriarchal control. Male prisons are hyper-macho environments with very hierarchical structures and class divisions. In the prisons, queer prisoners have taken on a submissive and passive persona, because they themselves are not immune to all the psychological bullshit that society teaches about gender, sex, and class, and how that gender should be lived – you know, ‘females are weak and only to use, and control.’ The queer prisoner is on the bottom of the social ladder, just above snitches. The life of the queer prisoner is one of gross disrespect, violence, and oppression, from prisoners and pigs alike. Most prisoners look at being queer as an abomination, as something nasty and weak.

But on March 11, 2016, that narrative was shattered after queer prisoners went on the offensive against the pigs.

One queer prisoner went from dorm to dorm inviting, exhorting, and encouraging prisoners to come out of their cells and join in tearing the prison down. One dorm refused and placed a lock and chain on their dorm’s cell door, successfully locking themselves in and everyone else out. The queer prisoner started calling these guys on this and called them pigs, Uncle Tom, etc. all while brandishing a knife.

And this is not the only instance of queer resistance against the pigs:

– In 2012, a stabbing of a guard in the segregation unit at Holman was taking place while showers were being done, and Fredricka, a queer prisoner’s, cell door hadn’t closed and she ran out the cell, down the stairs and into the control unit. She kicked the pig down who was in the control unit, handcuffed him and opened some of the segregation cell doors, allowing other prisoners to come out their cell and attack the police.

– Also in 2012 at Holman prison, queer prisoners formed the “Gay Militia” as a prison gang for the protection of themselves against homophobes.

– At Donaldson prison in Alabama, queer prisoners form F.A.G. as a self-defense organization.

– In 2015 at Holman prison, a queer prisoner set fire to a guard in the segregation unit.

The history of queer resistance is long and beautiful. It didn’t start with Stonewall.